Standing Rock: Cops and ND Legislature Behaving Badly

On Martin Luther King Day at Standing Rock, there were actions both at Turtle Island (the small hill where ancestors are buried) and the Highway 1806 bridge, which is a public road that is still illegally blockaded by the forces protecting the pipeline company. In both locations, the cops, mercenaries, and National Guard attacked the water protectors with mace and teargas, and fired rubber bullets at point-blank range directly at people who were only a few yards away from them.

Here is unedited footage from Turtle Island (20 mins). The National Guard’s unnecessary attack happens within the first 6 minutes.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgG241bkYY]

Below is a long video of what happened at the Backwater Bridge, 1/16/17 (1:29:54). This action is like a rollercoaster. You can hear the “less-lethal” weapons being fired in the first 5 minutes. At 5:42 closeups of cops shooting for no reason at all. At 8:15 they retreat, and at 16:00 they come back out. At 45 minutes, there’s a quiet discussion across the barrier between cops and one or two water protectors, which is followed by hand-holding and group prayer with the cops across the barrier. Things escalate again at 1:16:00. I was exhausted just watching. [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawDFi82iFk]

This video (17:24) shows the live arrest (at 6:40) of two water protectors for, as far as I can tell, simply walking near Turtle Island. The cops say, “stay on the south side of the river, you’re trespassing.” Trespassing? This is the Sioux’s ancestral treaty land, where their forebears are buried.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oRBelLAlGs]

There is a new piece of military equipment now stationed on one of the hills overlooking the Oceti Oyate and Sacred Stone camps. Some people are saying it is ground-to-air missiles for shooting down drones. This video (4:30) also includes some information about two proposed laws being considered by the ND legislature: one that would make wearing a mask or in some way covering your face illegal (in below-zero weather!) and the other that would allow drivers to basically commit vehicular homicide. They would no longer be responsible for injury to a protester who was standing in the road.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WncuDuzowU]

Here’s more information about the two new laws: the mask one and the “motorist liability” one. Both of these attempts to destroy the First Amendment in North Dakota are despicable.

Finally, some information has come out about cops from other jurisdictions using Standing Rock as a training ground.

Two notable takeaways are his recommendation that all officers in the WHP should be trained in mobile field force - which is another way of saying riot police - and that orange colored forearms be used to make whatever redacted less lethal equipment being used look less lethal.

Also mentioned were removing the protesters earlier before they dug in, developing counters to protester maneuvers like the sleeping dragon, listening in on protest leaders, and using an outlet to combat news reports unfavorable to police. Or in his words, “so called media such as Unicorn Riot.”

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that'll fix it

Running over protesters may soon be legal in North Dakota, if conservative lawmakers are successful in advancing legislation introduced last week.

House Bill Number 1203 (pdf) states that, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a driver of a motor vehicle who unintentionally causes injury or death to an individual obstructing vehicular traffic on a public road, street, or highway, is not guilty of an offense.”

The bill is slated to be heard by the North Dakota’s House Transportation Committee on Friday.

Rep. Keith Kempenich (R-Bowman), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told the Bismarck Tribune on Wednesday, “[The roads are] not there for the protesters. They’re intentionally putting themselves in danger.”

“It’s shifting the burden of proof from the motor vehicle driver to the pedestrian,” Kempenich said.

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blazinAZ's picture

@gjohnsit I linked to an article but didn't quote.

I'm calling it the "legalized vehicular homicide" law -- if the victim is a water protector or other protestor.

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There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka

Bisbonian's picture

@blazinAZ It's called an AN/TWQ-1 "Avenger". I guess it would be used to avenge dangerous prayers hurled in its direction. It fires "Stinger" missiles, suitable for shooting down helicopters and small aircraft. Someone said it would knock down drones, but I am pretty sure that the little camera drones would be too small for it to "see". Someone ought to try an experiment, and launch about a dozen cheap, basic drones in it's general direction, all at once, and see how it does. (Those missiles are probably a lot more expensive than some cheap drones.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/TWQ-1_Avenger

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@Bisbonian

"I see a time of seven generations, when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again." Crazy Horse.

Please, let this prediction be true, and let life win over the pathology of destructive greed!

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Bisbonian's picture

@Ellen North Amen.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

blazinAZ's picture

@Bisbonian
It's horrible that this has been deployed there, and if it's likely to be ineffective against drones, then it must be intended to be used against people. /sigh/

I think we all need to keep a close eye on Standing Rock during the inauguration and the weekend. With attention focused on DC, there's a good chance that there will be a crackdown in North Dakota.

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There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka

solublefish's picture

@gjohnsit @gjohnsit

“[The roads are] not there for the protesters. They’re intentionally putting themselves in danger.”

"Intentionally putting themselves in danger" they are, and that's the idea. They are relying thereby on our common humanity to guarantee their safety and vouchsafe the justice of their cause. This same common humanity the Rep seems rather eager to take away.

And therein lies the root of the problem.

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